Fight against tax fraud and evasion

Tax measures must be adopted unanimously by the Member States. The European Parliament has the right to be consulted on tax matters, except on budgetary-related issues, for which it is co-legislator.

The power to tax is in the hands of the Member States, with the EU having only limited EU competences. As EU tax policy is geared towards the smooth running of the single market, the harmonisation of indirect taxation was addressed before direct taxation. The fight against harmful tax evasion and tax avoidance has become a recent policy priority.

The Members of the PANA Committee zoom in on the recent Paradise Papers revelations, together with three journalists who worked at the heart of the investigation at the International Consortium for Investigative Journalism (ICIJ). During the second part of this hearing, Pierre MOSCOVICI, Member of the EC in charge of Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, and Vĕra JOUROVÁ, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, react to the revelations and debate possible follow-up actions and current state of affairs of ongoing files with PANA Members.